


The Waiting Game

by Ahria



Category: Galileo (TV Japan)
Genre: Angst, Drunkenness, F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-11
Updated: 2009-06-11
Packaged: 2017-11-22 09:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/608109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahria/pseuds/Ahria





	The Waiting Game

The phone rang, a bright cheery tune cutting through the darkness of his room. He glared in the direction of the noise, once again regretting having forgotten his phone in her car the past afternoon. No wonder she’d been giggling so much when she’d handed it back to him. After a moment of debate he leaned up and grabbed the ringing cell.

“Yes?” he answered, glancing towards the clock.

“Yukawa-sensei!” Utsumi exclaimed.

“Utsumi-kun, it’s 1:15 in the-“

“They took my keys!” she interrupted him.

“What?”

“The guy, the worker bar guy… he took my keys.” She responded.

“You’re drunk.” He told her, pulling himself into a sitting position.

“So? I never even said I was gonna drive anyplace.” She snapped childishly.

“Who else is there with you?” he asked, hoping a sober person could be relied upon to fetch her keys and take her home. 

She was silent for a long moment before replying, “I’m here alone.”

He sighed and rubbed his face, knowing he was in for a long night.

“Where are you?” he asked as he got out of bed. She rattled off the name of the bar and directions from the police station.

“Stay there.” He told her and she easily agreed before hanging up. Quickly he called for a cab, then got dressed to leave. After the taxi arrived and he’d given directions to the driver, he sat back and looked out the window. It took a moment for the oddness of the situation to dawn on him. He wasn’t sure why he had decided to retrieve her. Of course there was the obvious mystery of her behavior- it was strange for her to be so irresponsible- but there was something more behind his decision. Some part of his mind insisted that he was worried about her being drunk in a crowd of strangers, but it was too emotional of a reason so he ignored it. He spent the rest of the drive puzzling over the problem.

Once he arrived at the bar and had paid the driver, he entered the establishment and spotted her almost immediately. Utsumi was sitting in the far corner of the room, alone, a glass of amber liquid at her lips. Yukawa made his way to the counter.

“I’m told an employee has that woman’s keys. I’m here to pick her up.” He told the bartender as he pointed in Utsumi’s direction.

“Oh, you’re here for Kaoru-chan?” the man laughed, fishing keys out of his pocket and handing them over. “No wonder she’s shot everyone down tonight.”

“How long has she been here?” Yukawa asked, ignoring the man’s comment.

“She came in maybe three hours ago? Alone, though. She’s been sitting there ever since. I cut her off a while ago, but a lot of the guys keep buying her drinks.” He said with a shrug, then was off to help a customer. Yukawa made his way towards her and deftly pulled the glass from her fingers.

“You’re here.” She said and smiled brightly at him. He nodded absently as he studied her.

“I’ll take you home.” He told her and she nodded. “Can you walk?”

She jumped to her feet and swayed, looking thoughtful all the while. 

“I dunno.” She replied, laughing a bit. Saying nothing, he took her elbow and placed his other hand on the small of her back. They emerged in the parking lot, Utsumi having only fallen into him twice. He pulled her keys from his pocket and unlocked her car.

“I knew you’d get them back!” she exclaimed as he nodded.

“I’ll leave them with you once I drop you off.”

“You can drive?!” she practically shouted.

“Of course.” He answered, opening the passenger door for her and helping her into the car. “It’s a simple matter of-“

“Nononono, I believe you, physics, yeah. I believe you.” She cut him off, waving her hands at him. Quickly he shut her door then got in the car. They’d been on the road for a few minutes before she asked, “Why did you come get me?”

He was silent for a long time, gathering his thoughts. Having barely admitted to himself that he’d been worried about her, he couldn’t possibly bring himself to say so. Instead he answered with a simple, “You’ve helped me before. I’m returning the favor.” He didn’t notice her rolling her eyes.

“It’s strange for you to go drinking alone.” He said after a while of silence. 

“A friend of mine died today.” She whispered. “A detective, like me. She was apprehending a suspect, and he-“ she took a breath, voice shaking. “he had a knife. He killed her. He just… he just killed her.”

He heard her sniffling, heard the tears in her voice. Yukawa reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his handkerchief. Her fingertips grazed his as she pulled the cloth from his fingers.

“I’m sorry for you loss, Utsumi-kun.” He told her softly and she nodded.

“She was the-the most alive person I ever met. She used to do the craziest things! And when we asked her why, she always said to live in the moment. She said the future wasn’t reliable, and she was right.”  
Utsumi was crying in earnest now, sobs wracking her body. Yukawa was relieved to finally pull into her apartment building’s parking lot. Suddenly embarrassed, she wiped her cheeks harshly while muttering, “I’m sorry for troubling you.”

“It’s alright, I-“

“Let me pay for you cab rides, I’m sorry.” She interrupted, fumbling for her purse. He was out of the car and opening her door before she even got to her wallet.

“It’s unnecessary.” He told her as she climbed out of the car. For a moment she debated arguing with him, but decided to save herself the trouble and just slip money in his pocket when he wasn’t looking. As she took a few steps towards her building her legs failed her and she simply fell. Yukawa caught her easily and set her back on her feet.

“What floor do you live on?” he asked. She nibbled on her bottom lip as she looked up and responded, “The sixteenth.” 

He nodded at her with resignation and took her elbow again, leading her to the door. They were silent as he walked to the elevator then to her apartment door. She pointed to the key and he unlocked her door. As she walked in, he handed her the keys.

“Thank you.” She said and abruptly sat on the floor just beyond her walkway.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Sleeping.”

“You can’t sleep on the floor.”

“Bet I could.”

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration and entered her apartment against his better judgment. He shut the door and slipped off his shoes. 

“I will walk you to your… living room.” He said, deciding that was the safest bet. She sighed and held up her hand. He took it and pulled her to her feet. When she swayed he grabbed her shoulders to try to steady him. Before he could move or say anything else, she leaned in and kissed him squarely on the mouth. He pulled away abruptly. 

“Utsumi-kun what are you doing?” he demanded.

“Living in the moment.” She answered, leaning in again.

“You are a colleague and you are heavily intoxicated and-“

“Just shut up, ok?”

“Utsumi-“

She leaned back and looked at him again, and he fell silent. He’d never seen that look on her face before. It was somewhere between longing and sad and pleading and he didn’t know what to say.

“Am I the only one?” she whispered.

“What?” he mumbled.

“There’s something between us.” She answered; worry adding to the emotions on her face. He knew the safest course of action was to lie, deny everything and leave but he couldn’t force the words. He had a feeling that this was a chance that would never come again and that if he lied, the fragile mysterious thing between them would shatter. So he took a deep breath then repeated, “There’s something between us.” and she closed her eyes in relief. He noticed that his hands were still resting on her shoulders and as he tried moving them away without it seeming like a rejection, she simply leaned up and kissed him again. She stepped in closer, her body pressed against his as one of her hands slipped into his hair. Her mouth was insistent and warm against his as he pulled away.

“You’re drunk.” He said again, gently pulling her hand from the back of neck. “The chemical components of alcohol affect the centers of the brain-“

“If there was ever a time in your life to not ruin something with logic, now would be that time.” Utsumi told him, looking just a little amused. Yukawa sighed deeply, suddenly exhausted.

“I need more time.” He told her. It was the sadness in his eyes that had her taking a step back. 

“Ok.” She nodded and fell silent, watching as he slipped his shoes back on.

“I have to go.” He said and she nodded again. As he opened the door she whispered, “I can’t wait for you forever.”

“I know.” Yukawa replied, not looking at her. “Goodnight, Utsumi-kun.”

“Goodnight.” She replied as he slipped out the door and closed it behind him.


End file.
